My fiance and I are looking to purchase a home in Chelsfield and are in fact using a Chelsfield conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Virgin Money have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Chelsfield solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Chelsfield solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We have very pushy vendors who has suggested a exclusivity agreement with a payment two thousand pounds. Are such arrangements the norm for Chelsfield conveyancing transactions?
Exclusivity contracts are contracts between a home seller and prospective buyer giving the buyer a ‘clear field’ to purchase the property within an agreed time frame. Essentially, an exclusivity is a document stating that you should receive a contract at a later time being the contract for the actual sale. It tends to be utilised for buyer confidence though in some cases, the owner may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are many pros and cons to having an agreement but you need to check with your conveyancer but note that it may end up costing you more in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these agreements are avoided in relation to conveyancing in Chelsfield.
I am assisting my mother sell her house in Chelsfield. Does the conveyancing solicitor arrange the energy performance certificate or it is for the owner to see to?
Following the abolition of HIPs, energy assessments was left as a compulsory part of selling a property. An EPC must be to hand before the property is marketed. This is not something that solicitors normally organise. If you are instructing a Chelsfield conveyancing lawyer they may be willing to arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with long established local assessors
We previously chose solicitors with offices in Chelsfield on the Lloyds solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a further sum for handling the Lloyds mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Lloyds?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your conveyancer is entitled to charge a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by Lloyds but by your Chelsfield solicitor. Plenty of firms on the Lloyds panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in December 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Coventry BS are being difficult. The Chelsfield solicitor who is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Coventry BS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Coventry BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Coventry BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Coventry BS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I have been told that property searches are a common cause of stalling in Chelsfield house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Chelsfield.
I'm buying my first flat in Chelsfield with a mortgage from National Westminster Bank. The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative told me not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it will impact my loan with National Westminster Bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
We are 17 days into a residential purchase having been referred to solicitors by the estate agent to carry out the conveyancing in Chelsfield. I am am extremely disappointed with the quality of service. Could you help me find new conveyancers?
They would have to be very bad in order to consider diss instructing them. Has your mortgage been issued? In the event that it has you must make them aware of the new lawyer and get the loan are re-issued. Your new solicitor ideally should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid supplemental costs and complications. That should be your first question of the new conveyancers. Our search tool will assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Chelsfield